Question:
I think it might. I don’t advocate hitting a tire or a bag.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – But if you hit it against a tire, won’t that teach you to not follow through with your swing?
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But if you hit it against a tire, won’t that teach you to not follow through with your swing?
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I am curious – hoping that one of the swing gurus can answer this question: Does delaying the uncocking of the wrist create a steeper angle of approach?
Response:
No. It creates more lag at impact.
I am curious – hoping that one of the swing gurus can answer this question: Does delaying the uncocking of the wrist create a steeper angle of
approach?
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve …. As for stopping left wrist breakdown, my experience has been that ( for full swings) the flat left wrist is more a function of my wrists being passive and relaxed rather than trying to ‘hold’ the flat left wrist. A flat left wrist is created from clubhead lag and lag pressure points on the hands that feel the weight of the clubhead. Start with chips and work up toward a full swing, feeling the clubhead lag. Laville can give you the details on this better than I can. Also, don’t worry too much about ‘hitting down on the ball’. Hit the inside aft quadrant of the ball with a relaxed, flat left wrist and you will soon be striking the ball with an appropriate (not exaggerated) downward, divot p roducing blow. Best, Bill-OB Steve, I think you will benefit from this advice on the lag of the clubhhead. With a good grip, a proper lag will straighten what needs to be straightened at impact automatically. And it is easier to learn it on the shorter clubs. Puttster
I’d argue that lag will ‘maintain’ a flat left wrist that was already created by a folding / bending of the right wrist on the backswing. But…maybe I am splitting hairs.
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I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve
…. As for stopping left wrist breakdown, my experience has been that ( for full – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – swings) the flat left wrist is more a function of my wrists being passive and relaxed rather than trying to ‘hold’ the flat left wrist. A flat left wrist is created from clubhead lag and lag pressure points on the hands that feel the weight of the clubhead. Start with chips and work up toward a full swing, feeling the clubhead lag. Laville can give you the details on this better than I can. Also, don’t worry too much about ‘hitting down on the ball’. Hit the inside aft quadrant of the ball with a relaxed, flat left wrist and you will soon be striking the ball with an appropriate (not exaggerated) downward, divot p roducing blow. Best, Bill-OB
Steve, I think you will benefit from this advice on the lag of the clubhhead. With a good grip, a proper lag will straighten what needs to be straightened at impact automatically. And it is easier to learn it on the shorter clubs. Puttster
Response:
I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve
Get a hitting bag or hit against an old tire. I’m not sure anything teaches you a good impact position faster than beating an old club against a tire. A hitting bag works almost as well, but it’s easier on the hands so you don’t learn to stop screwing it up quite as fast. 8^)
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper " Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while… It’s just a thought, but if you were to cut a hole in the carpet — a couple inches in diameter — and fill it with modling clay, you could stick tees in there all day long without destroying the lawn. Eliyahu I have a rubber tee I bought from a driving range and use that. I see what you are saying and could use a few inches of dirt or sand and place that just past the rubber tee in a shallow planting tray. Good idea. Steve Steve, All of the above ideas sound fine, but I am afraid you may be setting yourself up for a backyard accident. I am not sure that hitting off a carpeted (plywood I am assuming) platform into a planting tray is going to give you the results you are after. I suggest getting an impact bag (or a duffel bag full of laundry) and hitting into it. Focus on the flat left wrist and keep your hands ahead of the clubhead as you strike the bag. Mentally focus on a ‘downward and outward’ stroke. Should do the trick. Otherwise, wait till spring and hit off real grass. If you can’t wait until spring then fill the bottom of a plastic kiddy swimming pool with 6" of sand and whack away. JMHO Bill-OB Backyard accident? I almost always hit off a rubber tee so hitting the platform is not an issue. I have been hitting into the net the last 2 years and so far no damage to myself or anything around. It helps I have a 250 acre heavily wooded city park directly behind me. I am guessing of the thousands of balls I have hit, maybe 10 or 15 made the woods, almost all from teeing a ball really high and getting under it a tad. Steve I was referring to you trying to hit down through the ball into a ’shallow planting tray’. Sounds like you have all the info you need. Just trying to help. Best of luck. Bill-OB
Thanks to all of RSG for the ideas and suggestions. Steve
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper " Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while… It’s just a thought, but if you were to cut a hole in the carpet — a couple inches in diameter — and fill it with modling clay, you could stick tees in there all day long without destroying the lawn. Eliyahu I have a rubber tee I bought from a driving range and use that. I see what you are saying and could use a few inches of dirt or sand and place that just past the rubber tee in a shallow planting tray. Good idea. Steve Steve, All of the above ideas sound fine, but I am afraid you may be setting yourself up for a backyard accident. I am not sure that hitting off a carpeted (plywood I am assuming) platform into a planting tray is going to give you the results you are after. I suggest getting an impact bag (or a duffel bag full of laundry) and hitting into it. Focus on the flat left wrist and keep your hands ahead of the clubhead as you strike the bag. Mentally focus on a ‘downward and outward’ stroke. Should do the trick. Otherwise, wait till spring and hit off real grass. If you can’t wait until spring then fill the bottom of a plastic kiddy swimming pool with 6" of sand and whack away. JMHO Bill-OB Backyard accident? I almost always hit off a rubber tee so hitting the platform is not an issue. I have been hitting into the net the last 2 years and so far no damage to myself or anything around. It helps I have a 250 acre heavily wooded city park directly behind me. I am guessing of the thousands of balls I have hit, maybe 10 or 15 made the woods, almost all from teeing a ball really high and getting under it a tad. Steve
I was referring to you trying to hit down through the ball into a ’shallow planting tray’. Sounds like you have all the info you need. Just trying to help. Best of luck. Bill-OB
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper " Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while… It’s just a thought, but if you were to cut a hole in the carpet — a couple inches in diameter — and fill it with modling clay, you could stick tees in there all day long without destroying the lawn. Eliyahu I have a rubber tee I bought from a driving range and use that. I see what you are saying and could use a few inches of dirt or sand and place that just past the rubber tee in a shallow planting tray. Good idea. Steve Steve, All of the above ideas sound fine, but I am afraid you may be setting yourself up for a backyard accident. I am not sure that hitting off a carpeted (plywood I am assuming) platform into a planting tray is going to give you the results you are after. I suggest getting an impact bag (or a duffel bag full of laundry) and hitting into it. Focus on the flat left wrist and keep your hands ahead of the clubhead as you strike the bag. Mentally focus on a ‘downward and outward’ stroke. Should do the trick. Otherwise, wait till spring and hit off real grass. If you can’t wait until spring then fill the bottom of a plastic kiddy swimming pool with 6" of sand and whack away. JMHO Bill-OB
Backyard accident? I almost always hit off a rubber tee so hitting the platform is not an issue. I have been hitting into the net the last 2 years and so far no damage to myself or anything around. It helps I have a 250 acre heavily wooded city park directly behind me. I am guessing of the thousands of balls I have hit, maybe 10 or 15 made the woods, almost all from teeing a ball really high and getting under it a tad. Steve
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper " Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while… It’s just a thought, but if you were to cut a hole in the carpet — a couple inches in diameter — and fill it with modling clay, you could stick tees in there all day long without destroying the lawn. Eliyahu I have a rubber tee I bought from a driving range and use that. I see what you are saying and could use a few inches of dirt or sand and place that just past the rubber tee in a shallow planting tray. Good idea. Steve
Steve, All of the above ideas sound fine, but I am afraid you may be setting yourself up for a backyard accident. I am not sure that hitting off a carpeted (plywood I am assuming) platform into a planting tray is going to give you the results you are after. I suggest getting an impact bag (or a duffel bag full of laundry) and hitting into it. Focus on the flat left wrist and keep your hands ahead of the clubhead as you strike the bag. Mentally focus on a ‘downward and outward’ stroke. Should do the trick. Otherwise, wait till spring and hit off real grass. If you can’t wait until spring then fill the bottom of a plastic kiddy swimming pool with 6" of sand and whack away. JMHO Bill-OB
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper " Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while…
It’s just a thought, but if you were to cut a hole in the carpet — a couple inches in diameter — and fill it with modling clay, you could stick tees in there all day long without destroying the lawn. Eliyahu
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper " Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while… It’s just a thought, but if you were to cut a hole in the carpet — a couple inches in diameter — and fill it with modling clay, you could stick tees in there all day long without destroying the lawn. Eliyahu
I have a rubber tee I bought from a driving range and use that. I see what you are saying and could use a few inches of dirt or sand and place that just past the rubber tee in a shallow planting tray. Good idea. Steve
Response:
Steve, there’s nothing you can do about the wrist. Some people are just born limp wristed, and all the denying, disguising, and smokescreens won’t change that.
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Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper "
Thanks for the tip but I have a 4 foot by 4 foot carpeted platform in my backyard hitting into a net. I built it specifically so I do not destroy the grass by taking divots. I guess I could put the ball on a rubber tee and place something in front of it like a short inverted tee and try to clip the short tee. Or just sacrifice the grass for a while… Steve
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve Don’t put a 2 x 4 behind the ball. What you want is a shallow angle of approach with the left wrist flat and right wrist folded back. You want a shallow angle of approach, while hitting down with the short clubs, and sweeping with the long clubs. If your left wrist is breaking down, your plane is wrong and you are steep. Put a 2 x 4 outside the ball with *just* enough clearance for your iron to swing through the ball. For example, at set-up with the iron soled behind the ball, put the 2 x 4 about 1/2" outside the toe of the club. In this fashion, the only way you’ll hit the ball clean ( without hitting the board ) is with a shallow aproach from inside. After failing for a while and hitting the board, you’ll learn to get an inside approach with a shallow angle. Either that or you’ll quit golf. Remember at impact: ~~ shallow angle from inside ~~ flat left wrist ~~ folded back right wrist. I set up with strong left hand grip, so my left hand at address is cupped. I had always thought that I was supposed to let it remain cupped throughout the swing and through impact.I also always thought that the left wrist only cocked up and down, not hinged left and right.
The folding back of the right wrist will eliminate the cupped left wrist in the swing.
Response:
A flat left wrist is created from clubhead lag and lag pressure points on the hands that feel the weight of the clubhead. Start with chips and work up toward a full swing, feeling the clubhead lag. Laville can give you the details on this better than I can.
No I can’t, you did a good job! 
David Laville, G.S.E.M. The Golfing Machine Authorized Instructor
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve Don’t put a 2 x 4 behind the ball. What you want is a shallow angle of approach with the left wrist flat and right wrist folded back. You want a shallow angle of approach, while hitting down with the short clubs, and sweeping with the long clubs. If your left wrist is breaking down, your plane is wrong and you are steep. Put a 2 x 4 outside the ball with *just* enough clearance for your iron to swing through the ball. For example, at set-up with the iron soled behind the ball, put the 2 x 4 about 1/2" outside the toe of the club. In this fashion, the only way you’ll hit the ball clean ( without hitting the board ) is with a shallow aproach from inside. After failing for a while and hitting the board, you’ll learn to get an inside approach with a shallow angle. Either that or you’ll quit golf. Remember at impact: ~~ shallow angle from inside ~~ flat left wrist ~~ folded back right wrist.
I set up with strong left hand grip, so my left hand at address is cupped. I had always thought that I was supposed to let it remain cupped throughout the swing and through impact.I also always thought that the left wrist only cocked up and down, not hinged left and right. Question to David Laville. What kind of distances and consistency can you achieve with the type of swing you teach? I understand it is more rotational, not an arm swing? I might finally go for lessons and would like to know the pros and cons of the different types of swings: body, arm, rotational, etc. Thx
Response:
Steve, try this.. put a Tee in the ground about one inch in front of the ball, facing your target and at impact have your club dig the Tee out of the ground..and with practice you will get more out of this drill than what you are doing now… " Live long and prosper "
Response:
Someone once suggested that you hit balls while imagining a rope stretched about 4 or 5 feet off the ground about 10 feet in front of you (distances are approximate, just to give the idea). The idea is to think about hitting the ball under the rope (without changing your normal ball position or follow thru like you would for a knockdown shot). I’ve worked on this occasionally and always found that to be a useful image and drill. Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve
Response:
For example, at set-up with the iron soled behind the ball, put the 2 x 4 about 1/2" outside the toe of the club. In this fashion, the only way you’ll hit the ball clean ( without hitting the board ) is with a shallow aproach from inside.
My instructor did exactly this drill with me, but he used a cardboard box which a set of clubs had been shipped in. That way, if I hit the box, there was no damage to the club. I hit the box a lot. -b
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For example, at set-up with the iron soled behind the ball, put the 2 x 4 about 1/2" outside the toe of the club. In this fashion, the only way you’ll hit the ball clean ( without hitting the board ) is with a shallow aproach from inside. My instructor did exactly this drill with me, but he used a cardboard box which a set of clubs had been shipped in. That way, if I hit the box, there was no damage to the club. I hit the box a lot. -b
Yes, you’ll hit the board for a while. But all of a sudden, you’ll figure it out. dropping inside. It is a very liberating experience for a chronic Over The Topper. It’ll also get you into the position of the hands leading the clubhead through impact. Much better than Mike’s headcover drill! ( smiley face).
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve
I could be misunderstaning your post, but it sounds like you are talking about your ‘angle of attack’ rather than the ‘angle of approach’. As for the distance behind the ball, it depends on your height, posture and the shaft plane you establish at setup/impact fix. 10 inches might be fine. I admit that I have never tried this experiment so I am just guessing. The ideas of spanking a 2×4 square with a 5 iron doesn’t appeal to me. ( I have placed one outside my ball and parallel to the target line to stop an oot swing, but that is usually just a glancing blow when mis-hit) As for stopping left wrist breakdown, my experience has been that ( for full swings) the flat left wrist is more a function of my wrists being passive and relaxed rather than trying to ‘hold’ the flat left wrist. A flat left wrist is created from clubhead lag and lag pressure points on the hands that feel the weight of the clubhead. Start with chips and work up toward a full swing, feeling the clubhead lag. Laville can give you the details on this better than I can. Also, don’t worry too much about ‘hitting down on the ball’. Hit the inside aft quadrant of the ball with a relaxed, flat left wrist and you will soon be striking the ball with an appropriate (not exaggerated) downward, divot p roducing blow. Best, Bill-OB
Response:
I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve
Response:
I am working on hitting down on the ball rather than sweep it. My left wrist breaks down and I tend to scoop the ball and it would seem to me that this would help. One thing I have tried is to place a 2 x 4 behind the ball to increase the angle of approach. On a flat lie with no tee, how close to the ball should I expect to place the 2 x 4 without clipping it with a 5 iron? Right now I am about 9 or 10 inches behind beforeI clip the board which seems a lot farther behind than I would have guessed. Any comments or suggestions, specifically to work on stopping the left wrist break down issue? Thanks, Steve
Don’t put a 2 x 4 behind the ball. What you want is a shallow angle of approach with the left wrist flat and right wrist folded back. You want a shallow angle of approach, while hitting down with the short clubs, and sweeping with the long clubs. If your left wrist is breaking down, your plane is wrong and you are steep. Put a 2 x 4 outside the ball with *just* enough clearance for your iron to swing through the ball. For example, at set-up with the iron soled behind the ball, put the 2 x 4 about 1/2" outside the toe of the club. In this fashion, the only way you’ll hit the ball clean ( without hitting the board ) is with a shallow aproach from inside. After failing for a while and hitting the board, you’ll learn to get an inside approach with a shallow angle. Either that or you’ll quit golf. Remember at impact: ~~ shallow angle from inside ~~ flat left wrist ~~ folded back right wrist.